HEIRS OF GOD

A REFLECTION FOR THE 8TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Things get passed down from father to son.  It is the way of the world, as one generation passes away and leaves its prized possessions to the next.  Children inherit the homes, the bank accounts, the automobiles and other material goods once so meticulously cared for and treasured by their parents, and then these children grow up, get married, and, when the time comes, pass on the family heirlooms to their own children.  Memories are preserved, the family legacy continues.

 

Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that a child, instead of dutifully following in his father’s footsteps, will dis-inherit himself by defying his father’s laws, by walking away from his father’s home in order to lead a lifestyle disapproved of by his parents.  There are even laws today which facilitate the younger generation from renouncing the authority of their own family.  It’s called “emancipation”, and is a legal way for children to become adults before they are 18. Once a child is emancipated, his parents do not have custody or control of him anymore.  However, nor do they any longer have the responsibility of taking care of that child, or of passing on their wealth to him when they die.  To be emancipated is automatically to be disinherited.

 

Of course, people, especially young ones, often make mistakes.  Take the Prodigal Son for example, who leaves home to seek a life of pleasure and debauchery.  As we know, that didn’t work out too well for him, so he decides to go back to his father who welcomes him with open arms.  For the arms of a father are always, must be always, ready to embrace a prodigal son who repents.  It’s what a father does.

 

Our Lord often refers to us as the Children of God.  Indeed, when he taught us to pray, it was to “Our Father, who art in heaven” that he instructed us to address our prayers.  We are indebted to this Father in heaven, because he gave us his only-begotten Son who redeemed us by his Precious Blood.  Plus, he has given us so much else besides, indeed everything we have.  Unfortunately, we often repay his generosity by sinning against him, even to the point of deliberately defying his most serious laws in acts that are mortally sinful.  Such acts deprive us of our inheritance.

 

As Children of God, we are the heirs of God.  If we are given the grace to repent of our sins before we die, we will be welcomed by our Father in heaven with the open arms he has always held wide, ready to embrace us.  We will be joint-heirs with Christ, the true Son of God himself.  As St. Paul so beautifully describes it in today’s Epistle, if we suffer with Christ by mortifying the deeds of the body, we will also be glorified together with him.